IntroWhy did you choose to go to Iceland? Well, for several good reasons...
Day 1-4: ReykjavikThe first thing you notice on the drive from Keflavik airport to Reykjavik is the stark, volcanic terrain. There are no trees, the ground is jumbled slabs of hard lava and covered with grey-green moss. Some areas heve been planted with blue lupine, but mostly it is lunar.
About 70% of Icelands 300,000 inhabitants live in Reykjavik and its suburbs. The actual city center is fairly small and easily walkable. The old part of town, which is by far the most charming, is a mixture of residential and small commercial buildings.    Before starting our organized tour, and while recovering from jet lag, we spent a few days exploring Reykjavik. Some of our highlights were...
One of the things we noticed right away, is the high cost of everything (specially food) compared to the USA. For example, a capuccino is 300 KR or $4.50, a pint of basic beer is $10, and a light lunch for two can easily cost $30-40. Please don't complain about high gasoline prices in the USA... gas in Iceland is about 100 KR per liter, or more than $6.50 gallon. We paid more than $75 to fill up a small gas tank in our rental car. We discovered some interesting foods in Iceland (see photos below)... Hardfisk (a delicious thinly sliced, dried fish - eaten as a snack like potato chips) which comes in various shapes, flavors and sizes. It is ofen served with a little smjor (butter) on the side. Malt (non-alcoholic drink that tastes like a cross between root-beer and real beer). Maryland cookies with coconut (these people know their cookies!). Black salty Licorice is very popular here. One version we liked was Draumur, a chocolate bar that had a thick string of licorice inside. Kleinur, slightly sweet, fried dough that is something like an old fashioned donut but has a little carroway flavor. Skyr (yogurt-like dairy product, usually sweetened and served as a dessert). And (drum roll please)...available in your local grocery store... frozen puffin in a box! We also heard about, but didn't search out, whale carpaccio and putrid shark. Maybe next time...
Another surprise was the smell and high temperature of the of the hot water coming from the tap (about 180 degrees F). The heat and the sulphur smell of the hot water are due to its geothermal source. Much of Iceland is heated geothermally by super-heated water from deep bore holes. Water is plentiful here and is used for heating as well as generating electricity through hydroelectic power. 
Images and text (c) 2005 Pete Zivkov |
The steeple of Hallgrimskiarkja dominates
the skyline of the city center. It is an imposing landmark and provides a great overview of the
city. The newer suburburbs around the city are standard Euro-style
apartments and office buildings which lack the charm of the smaller and
older buildings found in the city center, whose architecture is
characterized by buildings clad with sheets of corrugated tin. It sounds
drab and industrial, but they are often painted in attractive colors and
come in various styles, from very plain to fancy.
The weather was gray, drizzly or rainy,
windy and surprisingly cold for late June. We were prepared for it, but it wasn't really what we expected at all. We were glad to
have and often wore gloves, hats and good rain jackets. In fact, we didn't
see much sun during our first week in Iceland. 
This is a super-jeep. You see them all
over Iceland. They are specially modified vehicles for travel across the interior highland roads. They have huge, oversize tires for sandy terrain,
high ground clearance for stream crossings, and GPS systems for
navigation. There are crazy looking mini vans, giant Hummers and odd
EuroAsian models like I've never seen in the USA. Many of
Iceland's roads are not paved, so a vehicle like this can make sense.